Is the “ick” factor of cannibalism nature or nurture? What does history tell us (& how much of it is a lie)?

Bill Schutt, a PhD zoologist & author of Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History, answers these questions by sharing the history of human cannibalism. We discuss why accounts of historic cannibalism may have been exaggerated, cannibalism in Europe, eating placenta & taking holy communion.

This episode originally aired July 11, 2022.

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 327: HE ATE HIS OWN FOOT?! GRIEF, FRIENDSHIP & FOOT TACOS [REMASTERED]

Guest:

https://a.co/d/0aFrqU73

https://billschutt.com/

https://www.facebook.com/BillSchutt1/

Sponsors:

https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/

https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/

03:27 — Europe’s hidden cannibal past

04:06 — Columbus’ narrative shift

05:23 — Cannibalism as a colonial weapon

06:22 — Undoing historical indoctrination

08:09 — “You weren’t dealing with humans”

09:16 — Eating enemies vs loved ones

09:37 — The Waray perspective flip

10:53 — Communion as cannibalism?

11:14 — The transubstantiation debate

12:05 — Flipping ideas on their head

12:50 — Europe’s “mummy medicine”

14:34 — Placenta as modern cannibalism

17:45 — Cooking and tasting placenta

20:04 — Is disgust learned?

21:55 — Curiosity over judgment

Request to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/

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This is the first of a series of episodes that feature opposing sides of a hot topic. Today it’s the a tech entrepreneur who founded a grief bot service vs a cyberpsychologist specializing in the ethics of death & the digital.

We ask, is this healing or avoidance? Can the dead consent to this? What is the potential for harm?

John Kammer is the founder of Guardian A[I]ngels, a subscription service that sends you journal prompts in the voice of your deceased loved one.

Elaine Kasket, PhD, is cyberpsychologist & Visiting Professor at the Centre for Death and Society at the University of Bath in the UK & the author of Reset: Rethinking Your Digital World for a Happier Life& All the Ghosts in the Machine: The Digital Afterlife of Your Personal Data.

You’ll hear why John created the service while Elaine lays out potential for harm & how they ultimately find common ground.

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 300: BIOFIELD THERAPY FOR ANXIETY & GRIEF: RECIPE FOR WELLNESS OR PURCHASED PLACEBO?

Elaine Kasket, PhD:

Reset book: https://a.co/d/081uhN8r

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-is-your-life-on-tech/id1666800931

https://www.elainekasket.com/

https://www.instagram.com/elainekasket/

https://www.facebook.com/elainekasketauthor

John Kammer:

https://guardianaingels.ai/

https://www.instagram.com/guardian_aingels/

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575970961536

Sponsors:

https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/

https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/

01:35 — “This feels like Black Mirror”

02:21 — The biggest risks of AI grief tools

04:23 — Pain to purpose: the origin story

06:15 — Why “time heals all wounds” is a myth

09:10 — The moment AI made him finally cry

13:41 — The danger of “never letting go”

18:45 — Why it shouldn’t feel too real

20:05 — The 4 tasks of mourning explained

25:49 — What is “AI-associated psychosis”?

31:00 — Why reminders of death are essential

38:24 — Why this runs on ChatGPT (and why that matters)

41:00 — Guarding against manipulation loops

44:19 — What grieving people should actually know

52:08 — The ethics of reviving the dead

53:12 — Memory vs. identity: what’s being recreated?

Request to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/

Follow me in all the places:

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meredith@meredithforreal.com

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What exactly is considered "sexless"? What are we counting as sex? What would cause someone to not want to have sex all of a sudden?

These are all questions I unpacked with Xanet Pailet. She was a successful healthcare lawyer married to an attorney with two children. She lived in a beautiful home in NYC as well as a sexless marriage. At age 45 and no sex for over 15 years, she considered sex as something she was just done with.

Now she is a full time intimacy educator with a fulfilling sex life. You’ll hear about resentment caused pain, the stuck place of indifference, what men are afraid of, medical procedures that can cause painful sex & listener Q & A from my Facebook group.

This episode originally aired March 11, 2024.

If you liked this episode, you’ll also like episode 214: WHAT ARE THE RULES OF MONOGAMY? THE PSYCHOLOGIST SWINGER

Guest:

https://www.passionateintimacyretreats.com/

https://www.powerofpleasure.com/

https://www.instagram.com/xanetpop/

https://twitter.com/powerofpleasure

https://www.facebook.com/xanetpop

Sponsors:

https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/

https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/

01:00 — What actually counts as “sexless”

03:00 — The “charcuterie board” of intimacy

06:00 — Separate bedrooms, separate lives

07:00 — Never masturbated… until 48

09:00 — When pleasure and anxiety get wired together

10:00 — Medical trauma no one talks about

13:00 — Circumcision, sensation, and what we lose

14:00 — Are some sexual issues permanent?

16:00 — The emotional root of physical pain

17:00 — Why resentment can make sex hurt

18:00 — When your partner feels like your child

20:00 — Masculine vs feminine energy in relationships

22:00 — Why men stop initiating (and don’t say why)

24:00 — Consent confusion and modern dating fears

26:00 — When no sex is… totally fine

27:00 — The menopause “I don’t care anymore” myth

28:00 — When bad sex kills desire completely

31:00 — The surprise return of desire after divorce

33:00 — The real answer: can it survive?

36:00 — Rebuilding intimacy from zero

40:00 — The hidden reality of sex in Japan

41:00 — Should you open the relationship?

43:00 — Sexless dynamics in same-sex couples

45:00 — Porn, gaming, and disconnection

48:00 — Rethinking sex after physical limitations

53:00 — Outercourse, body mapping, and new pathways

55:00 — Menopause, pain, and what actually helps

57:00 — Why “working on it” feels overwhelming

59:00 — The missing piece: non-sexual intimacy

Request to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/

Follow me in all the places:

https://www.meredithforreal.com/

https://www.instagram.com/the_curiousintrovert/

meredith@meredithforreal.com

https://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal

https://www.facebook.com/curiousintrovert